


Shakarian

by DAfan7711



Series: Mass Effect Trilogy [1]
Category: Mass Effect
Genre: BioWare, F/M, Happy Ending, Mass Effect 2, Romance, Shakarian - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-11-23
Updated: 2016-11-23
Packaged: 2018-09-01 18:15:11
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 7,692
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8633248
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DAfan7711/pseuds/DAfan7711
Summary: Commander Shepard seems just as surprised to find Garrus on Omega as he is surprised to find her alive. They pick up their friendship easily, but he wants more. A Shakarian romance from the viewpoints of Garrus Vakarian and Yoeman Kelly Chambers. Happy Ending.





	1. Omega firefight

He’d been awake and fighting for three days when Archangel’s armor sensors registered a brief but high spike in his heartrate. Crap, even a split-second distraction like that could get you killed. Good thing he was on the balcony, behind heavy cover, and the mercs were distracted by the woman attacking their rear flank.

A woman he’d thought dead. She was the reason for his heartrate spike.

He’d seen her spaced from the escape pod window while he tried to calm her surviving crew, shoved Alenko back down into his seat. “She gave you an order!”

He’d been the only remaining alien on an Alliance ship. Then he’d been the one keeping order amongst panicked humans while his own heart wept. Despite sleep deprivation and the stims coursing through his system, the memory was just as vivid as this firefight on Omgea.

A burst of bullets impacted in the wall by his right shoulder; splinters of concrete bounced off his helmet face.

Two small blasts of fire sounded downstairs, and then silence. The stench of charred flesh and overloaded electronics wafted up the stairs.

Then she, in full N7 armor, entered his barracks door, flanked by a Salarian and a human woman wearing a Cerberus logo. He ignored the two strangers and sat heavily on a crate.

It was as if someone had doubled the gravity on Omega. He was weighted down by more than battle fatigue and lack of sleep.

_Kim. Kim is here. Will she hate me for leaving her for dead?_

He removed his helmet, braced for her reaction.

“Garrus!” She smiled, opened her arms wide. “What are you doing here?”

It _was_ her. The same dark blonde hair, shorter now and around her chin. The same clear green eyes. The same swagger. The same voice. The same smile. The smile that made life worth living.

Thin pink lines on her face showed she was quickly healing from some pretty extensive injuries. From his balcony, he’d seen she now had biotic powers she hadn’t before, but he wasn’t going to think about the agonies that might have brought that about.

Later, he wouldn’t remember what they said to each other, just that she was happy to see him, and her new team was almost as good at killing mercs as he was. He held his position. They sealed the basement doors. It looked like they could make a break for it.

But the Blue Suns popped up in a gunship, obliterating his cover.

He was flying. Falling. Sound was gone. Smell was gone. Thought was gone—almost. The floor was this ugly yellow color, like elcor piss. At least it didn’t smell. His nose was smashed flat against it. Maybe he should think about getting up. Helping.

_I should get up._

But he didn’t. He drifted in darkness.

“Garrus!” Pain shot through his face and spine as she rolled him over. He gasped and his eyes briefly flew open to see nothing but blinding light, before the darkness encroached again.

The dark made his lips too heavy to say he loved her.

Was she talking? No, shouting. He just couldn’t hear it very well.

“Where’s my fucking med evac?! I’ll turn your ass into paste if you don’t save my Garrus!”

Then his ears faded, too, and he felt nothing.

-

Commander Kimberly Shepard was the most fascinating woman Yeoman Kelly Chambers had ever met. Shepard was brilliant, beautiful, brave, and had done more for humanity’s survival than all Cerberus’ cells. Kelly had read Shepard’s dossier before the rest of the crews’, carefully analyzed every photo, even the classified ones, then read all two-thousand extranet entries she could find.

Kelly’s former CO may have derisively said, “A psychology degree doesn’t make you a psychologist,” but Commander Shepard just nodded at the revelation and carried on with business. The Commander was kind.

Kelly hoped she had time to talk one-on-one when they left Omega—

“Hurt him and I hurt you, Miranda!” Shepard burst through the airlock. Dr. Solus and Operative Lawson followed, carrying a battlefield stretcher that cradled an unconscious turian with a blood-soaked compress across half his face. They raced into the elevator and down to the med bay.

The singe of spent thermal clips lingered in the CIC.

Kelly stood at her terminal, stunned. She’d not seen blood spilled for real before.

She shook off her discomfort before it could take hold. She had to amend her latest progress report to tell The Illusive Man that Shepard had just threatened Miranda.

 


	2. Look at us

When the darkness receded, Garrus saw a gray ceiling and sterile white lights.

_I’m in an infirmary. Somewhere._

“How do you feel?” The familiar British voice made him smile.

“Ow, don’t make me smile, Dr. Chakwas. My face feels like sheet metal under an oil fire, but I think I’m good.” She must have used cybernetic implants to hold his face and skull together. That would take some getting used to.

Good thing he didn’t have to trim a beard like Jeff. He hoped Shepard had Jeff back at the helm. Then he could go rag on him about human facial hair.

“Where’s my armor?” He sat up and swung his legs over the side of the bed.

Chakwas grabbed his shoulder with a warm hand. She wore gloves, so he couldn’t tell if human skin was as soft as it looked. More importantly than the gloves, however, was the black-and-yellow Cerberus logo on her uniform. Was he in enemy territory?

“Wait, Garrus. No sudden movements after a concussion. Take it slow when you stand.”

“Sure.” He let her help him up. After the first three steps, his dizziness was gone, but she insisted he walk around the med bay for five minutes under her scrutiny before she’d give him his armor and weapons back and sign him out, with some dextro-safe pain meds and extra medigel packs.

He paused at the door. “So, you work for Cerberus now?”

She snorted. Elegantly. It took all his effort not to smile again.

“I work for Shepard,” she said. “Cerberus is funding this mission to determine if the Collectors are clearing out human colonies, a precursor to the Reapers invading.”

“What? What’s happened?”

“Dozens of colonies have gone dark, Garrus. Humans vanished without a trace. The Council doesn’t care and the Alliance is paralyzed with indecision. Anderson’s keeping them off our backs, but I don’t know how long that will last if we leave the Terminus systems. The Council re-instated Shepard’s Spectre status, but no one is happy about her waking up in a Cerberus lab and captaining a Cerberus vessel on a Cerberus mission.”

His left mandible twitched. “Including you?”

“I’m happy to serve Shepard. Any time. Any place. After two years on ice, she’s only been up a few weeks, but I know it’s her.

“I know it’s her,” the doctor repeated.

“I do, too,” he said. “The moment we met. Thank you, Dr. Chakwas.”

Garrus went to find Kim. When he reached the elevator, he hesitated, realizing he had no idea where she was, or the layout of this ship, which looked eerily similar to the Normandy that had exploded around him two years ago.

“The comm room is behind the CIC, Archangel,” a synthetic feminine voice echoed down from the ceiling. He looked up, but couldn’t find any speakers or cameras.

“Uh, thanks . . .”

“I am EDI, the Normandy’s artificial intelligence.”

Well, crap. Hadn’t he spent all his time with Shepard saving the galaxy from synthetics? What hold did Cerberus and this ship have on Shepard?

“Do not worry,” EDI said. “Even if I was not shackled, I would protect you because you are Shepard’s . . . ally.”

Unsure if or how the A.I. could see him, Garrus merely nodded and took the elevator to the CIC. It took a minute to figure out he had to go through either the science lab or the armory to get to the comm room. He chose the armory. It smelled less scary, and it was empty, so he didn’t have to talk to any strangers.

“Tough son of a bitch,” was all the greeting he got from the man talking with Kim in the comm room. Both humans wore Cerberus uniforms. But Jacob Taylor didn’t appear hostile, and he saluted Kim on his way out.

It was a small, rectangular room, with one door and two security cameras. An oblong table raised up in the middle claimed most of the space. No chairs. A white holographic sphere floated just above the table.

“EDI, a little privacy, please?” Kim said.

“Of course, Shepard.” The holographic sphere dropped away. With a click, the door indicator light turned from green to red and the little lights on the security cameras went dark.

Kim sighed in relief and slouched down to lean her backside on the table, hands braced at her sides.

“Garrus, I’m so glad you’re here. Officially I need to tell you, ‘welcome aboard,’ so welcome aboard, Garrus.”

He couldn’t decide whether to say _I love you_ , or, _how did you get into this mess_? Instead, he flinched as he heard something rude pop out of his mouth.

“ _Cerberus_ , Shepard?”

She just chuckled. “Woke up in their lab, saved some people, hitched a ride off an imploding space station filled with mechs trying to kill us. They immediately dumped me on Freedom’s Progress, where a traumatized quarian showed us footage of Collectors paralyzing colonists with electromagnetic fields.”

She rubbed a hand over her face, but shed no tears. “It wasn’t the first colony hit. Only the first time clues were found afterward. Tens of thousands, Garrus, carted off alive to who knows what fate.”

He stepped forward, as unable to resist the pull of her as he was the pull of gravity, and lay a comforting hand on her shoulder.

“We’ll stop them.”

She reached up to put her hand over his, her palm’s hot human skin soft as a fresh rose petal, but the muscles underneath as powerful as his own as she gripped his hand. Her five white fingers against his three gray ones was the most beautiful thing he’d ever seen.

He stared at their joined hands. Little pink scars speckled her knuckles. A welt of healing red skin ran along her thumb like rope. He wanted to make it better. To hold her in his arms until the Collectors were stopped, and then still not let go.

She chuckled again and he looked up to find her smiling.

“Look at us,” she said, standing up. He dropped his hand and took a step back. “Two years to catch up on, Garrus—at least you’ve had two years while I’ve been out of it—and we’re just sitting here, staring at each other.”

She gestured toward the door. “Come on, I’m starving. Rupert’s an ass, but he’s got some good dextro alternatives for you. Then I’ll introduce you to Mordin and you can help us plan our next move.”

He may have been on a ship built by human supremacists, but Kim had his six. For the first time in two years, Garrus felt like he was home again.


	3. Your timing

On her way to the briefing room, Shepard barely paused long enough to say, “Sorry, Kelly, I’ve got a meeting.”

“Okay,” Kelly said brightly. “Maybe we'll talk later.” Their work stations were side-by-side, so they’d have a chance to chat soon.

For the next ten minutes, Kelly color coded her e-mails while practicing in her head what she’d say. Kim was a smart and direct woman. She’d appreciate well-organized thoughts even more than compliments. How do you tell an N7 you think she’s pretty? It was probably too soon. Maybe they could go out for drinks?

Immersed in her own plans, she didn’t notice the turian leave the elevator and enter the armory. But a few minutes later, his resonating chuckle blended with the Commander’s rich laugh, drawing Kelly’s attention from her console.

Kim squeezed his elbow as they got on the elevator. “I’ve missed you.”

“I’ve missed you, too,” he said, his words vibrating in an almost-echo. Did all turians sound like that? He noticed Kelly staring at them and gave her a hesitant smile and nod as the doors closed.

Her cheeks grew hot and she looked around to see if anyone else had noticed. The Illusive Man’s instructions had been clear: “Don’t be obvious. Let people let things slip. They shouldn’t notice that you notice.” Monitoring everyone’s mental health was important. Gaping at all the aliens wouldn’t help her accomplish that.

And if she treated Kim’s old friends weird, Kim might not want to go out for a drink with her.

Kelly looked down at her console. Next to her color-coded messages list was an e-mail draft she’d started earlier in the day and never finished.

 _Dear Kim_ , was followed by blank space.

No, she really should ask her in person, not through work e-mail. Kelly hesitated for a moment, then hit discard. She nearly jumped away from her workstation when EDI’s voice sounded over her head.

“Temporary files wiped and overwritten. Good night, Miss Chambers.”

“Yeah,” Kelly said breathily. “Good night.”

She scurried toward the Crew Quarters. Maybe a good night’s sleep would make her brave enough to ask Kim out.

-

Garrus and Kim worked in companionable silence in the forward battery. He stood at his console while she sat on a crate with her computer on her lap and datapads spread around her.

Every mission this past week, she’d brought him along. Watching from the shuttle, he’d held his breath while she effortlessly navigated the wreckage of the MSV Estevanico, then jumped into the shuttle as the wreck plummeted off the cliff face. He’d helped her pull Grunt’s tank off of Korlus, comforted her with whiskey after Alenko showed his ungrateful ass on Horizon, and followed her in and out of firefights on Illium, where she had a couple of close calls with toxic red clouds the Eclipse mercs kept throwing at her.

He’d told her, “Just like old times,” but it wasn’t. Not without Wrex, or their original crew. This wasn’t a ship built by turians and humans together. It was a Cerberus vessel.

But it was home because she was there.

“I need someone I can trust at my back,” she’d told him that first night.

Her comment had stabbed him in the chest—the thought that she was alone among hostiles—but he laughed it off, just to see her smile again. “You realize this plan has me marching into hell, too.”

Yeah, he’d march there for her. He’d go anywhere.

As the evening progressed, he found his gaze drifting toward her increasingly often. Maybe he was tired of computing firing algorithms and needed a break.

Or maybe he’d had enough waiting.

“Is your skin as soft as it looks?” Garrus blurted out.

She snorted out a high-pitched laugh and looked up with an incredulous grin. “Say again, Archangel?”

“I . . . that sounded bad.”

She cocked her head to the side, set down her data pad, and asked gently, “Garrus, you want to know what human skin feels like?”

“Well,” he took a deep breath, mustering his courage. “Not every human’s skin. Just . . .”

The silence stretched for a few breaths.

“Mine?” she asked.

“Yes.” His heart pounded in his throat so hard, he barely got the word out.

She held out her hand, palm up. “I’m here, if you’d like to come closer.”

He extended his hand and closed the distance between them slowly, not wanting to rush or misunderstand the moment. To give her time to pull away from his three coarse fingers, if she wanted.

Her five dexterous fingers were slightly curled toward the ceiling, like she was used to cradling fragile air instead of an assault rifle. As he drew closer, he could see curved lines and swirls across her palm and finger pads.

And then he was enveloped in warmth, starting with his fingers and moving through the rest of him. He hadn’t felt cold before, but this was different, a content warm that grew across his skin, seeped into his chest. He’d not felt anything like it, not even when his dad had let him hold his baby sister for the first time.

He gasped when she raised the back of his hand to rest against her left cheek, cradled his touch there for a moment. A soft breath escaped her nose as she closed her eyes and leaned her cheek further against him.

“This, Garrus,” she looked up. “Is what I’ve been wondering about, too.”

A beep sounded from the overhead comm, followed by EDI’s voice, “Commander, you have an urgent call in the briefing room.”

Garrus tensed, but Kim didn’t release his hand. The way her jaw moved with her words was fascinating, and her muscles rippled against the back of his hand.

“EDI, your timing sucks.”

“Affirmative. However, I believed you would want to know before the Illusive Man sent Miss Chambers looking for you.”

Kim’s frustrated sigh sent pleasant goosebumps up his arm.

“Thanks, EDI.” Kim stood, hesitated a moment.

“I don’t want to make you uncomfortable, Garrus. If you don’t want . . .” She looked toward the door, then back to him, chin up but eyes vulnerable. He’d never seen that before, and it terrified him that he could move her like that.

To hurt her was unfathomable.

“Don’t ever worry about that, Kim. I’m nervous, sure, but I want to give it a shot. With you.”

“Me, too, Garrus. I should go, but I’ll be back ASAP.”

As soon as he was alone, his omni-tool dinged and flashed orange, indicating a file transfer. “I didn’t order anything,” he mused, opening the message. The filename was Regency Romance. “What’s this?”

EDI answered him over the intercom, “Pre-industrial human courtship rituals. Fictitious, but popular. I found chapter nineteen to be of particular interest. ‘Steamy,’ is the vernacular term.”

Garrus cleared his throat. “You were listening?”

“Do not worry. I respect my crewmates’ privacy. I recommend you speak with Dr. Solus before engaging in any inter-species contact.”

He cringed. “You know what? Please stop right there, EDI. Just, stop.”

“Very well.”

Although curious about human courtship rituals, his conversation with the A.I. had dampened his mood, so he saved the files to read later.

Garrus resigned himself to a lonely night of number-crunching, but Kim was back five minutes later.

“Suit up, Vakarian. Turian distress call.”

-

He’d thought he’d seen hell on Horizon. Then they found the piles of mangled human bodies on the Collector ship. His horror turned to fear when the Praetorian swooped in and ripped through Kim’s shields. She flung herself into cover, her grunt of pain echoing through their comms and around his helmet.

He hit the monster with concussive shot, but it stomped the ground with all its creepy legs and sprung up again.

This was it. He was going to see her die. Again. And then be lost himself.

But Kim sprung up with a Particle Beam and the Praetorian disintegrated in mid-air. Kim stumbled forward. Garrus caught her before she fell.

“Just keep going,” she gasped. “We’re half way there!” She patted his shoulder, took a deep breath and ran ahead, putting herself between him and any fresh bullets.

They made it to the shuttle. Barely. They made it to the Normandy. Barely.

Garrus raced after Kim onto the bridge. Joker was yelling at EDI.

Visions of fire flashed across Garrus’ waking memory; Charles Pressly’s wide-eyed body on the floor of the bridge, the Normandy blown in half.

But this wasn’t the same. There was a new voice.

“Specify a destination, Mr. Moreau.”

“Anywhere that’s not here!”

The ship lurched into FTL, and they were alive.

Kim was alive.

And pissed. She yanked off her helmet. “The Illusive Man tries something like that again and the Collectors will be the least of his problems.”


	4. Vigilante

“Commander, you’ve got a message—”

Shepard kept walking. “Forward it to my e-mail, Kelly. I’ll have all my replies to you by morning.”

Kelly frowned. Okay, so maybe it’d been a rough week, and there hadn’t been a good time to ask Shepard out. But maybe she shouldn’t. If Shepard got snippy with her yeoman after a few missions, what kind of person would she be—

“She doesn’t mean to be rude,” Garrus strolled up. “She trusts you to get it done and doesn’t want to waste your time.”

His jaw was peculiar, but his eyes were blue. Alliance blue. Maybe today wasn’t so bad after all.

“Thank you, Mr. Vakarian. It’s no bother.”

“Please, it’s weird when people don’t call me Garrus.”

A spark lit in Kelly’s chest. Maybe she’d find a drinking buddy after all. “Thanks, Garrus.”

Shepard called back over her shoulder, “Vakarian, these numbers won’t crunch themselves.”

“I’m on it!” He headed for the elevator. “Later, Kelly.”

“Bye, Garrus!”

EDI’s measured voice rose up from Kelly’s console. “Miss Chambers, mind your terminal.”

-

A few days later, Shepard walked by Kelly in full, blood-spattered armor, her helmet under her arm. She spent thirty seconds up in the cockpit, then passed by again.

“Commander—”

Shepard kept walking. “Chambers, I have e-mail. Use it.”

Kelly scowled. She could follow protocol. There was no need to be nasty about it. Well, the Commander’s tone had been professional, but Shepard could have chosen her words more carefully. Kelly had been sifting through reports for her all day, without so much as a thank you!

“Don’t take it personally, Kelly,” Garrus strolled over, shoulders slumped and armor as gross as the Commander’s. “Now is not a good time. We couldn’t save anyone on that freighter.” He sighed.

Her anger instantly evaporated. Garrus was such a gentle soul. He wanted to help everyone. Just like she did.

“I can see this is hard for you, Garrus.”

“Yeah, it’s rough for us all. I’ve got to go clean up. Thanks, Kelly.”

“Any time, Garrus. Maybe we'll talk later.”

“Uh, sure thing,” he called over his shoulder and made his way to the men’s showers.

Kelly sighed to herself. “I’m looking forward to it.”

-

Other than the Reaper threat, and the Collectors, and Kim nearly having a stroke every time she had a chat with the Illusive Man, life was pretty good for Garrus. Almost every night, he and Kim worked on their own digital duties in the forward battery. Sharing air. Sharing silence. Together.

One night when he was sweeping up and she was packing her datapads back into her carry-all, she pulled something else out of her bag. “Oh, yeah. Just remembered . . .

“Here,” Kim handed Garrus an oblong plastic bottle. “Mordin tells me it’s a popular soap on Palaven. Is it something you’d like?” She said it casually, but he knew that little hunch of her shoulders, that way she only half looked at him when something was really important, but she didn’t want to tip her hand. She was giving him a special gift, and she desperately wanted him to like it.

She’d probably been waiting all day to give it to him.

“Popular on Palaven” was an understatement: More like, coveted by those who can’t have it. The skin cream was sold in luxury stores he’d never dreamed of visiting. A soft brush across his dry skin was his daily maintenance, and a quick warm shower of pure water a few times a week. He didn’t need the hundreds of “toiletries” humans seemed to need for their hair and tender skin.

After holding hands with Kim, he’d checked out some vids—after making EDI swear she wouldn’t tell Joker. He’d also caught Kasumi alone in the mess one day to get clarification about a rather disturbing vid. “That’s twentieth-century porn, sweetie. Not real life. No, I don’t think she’d want you to do that.”

“She who?” he’d asked, and Kasumi had rolled her eyes.

“Your secret’s safe with me, big guy, just stop dragging your heels.” The next day, one of Kasumi’s classic novels had appeared on his workstation. It was more tender and happy than what he’d found on the extranet.

Now Kim was giving him something so personal, he’d be an idiot not to ask.

“I’d love to try it.” He smiled and she smiled back. “Would you like to join me?”

“I’ve a clean bill of health,” she blurted out. “I’m on the pill, not that matters.” She covered her mouth with both hands, eyes wide with horror.

He chuckled. “Your health and safety always matter to me. And, yes, I’ve read enough to know what you’re talking about.”

She blushed and tried to put her hands in her pockets, only she didn’t have any pockets. He chuckled again. Fascinating. He’d never seen her skin turn pink. It was just like in Kasumi’s book.

She said, “I _meant_ Dr. Solus assured me human-turian physiology are compatible in most ways, just not for, uh, the word he used was ‘fertilization.’ Does that bother you?”

“No, Kim, it doesn’t bother me. There’s no one in this galaxy I respect more than you. And my offer still stands.”

“Yes. Then I say yes.”

His heart crowed in his chest. “When?”

Her smile grew bold. “How about tomorrow evening in my cabin, Vakarian? I’ll bring up a nice tray of dextro delicacies and we’ll spend the whole night exploring each other.”

“Yeah,” his voice cracked out from his suddenly dry throat. “Definitely.”

She slung her carry-all over her shoulder and sashayed out his door.

-

Garrus had been ragging on Joker about his beard when the message came in: Lantar Sidonis was in hiding on the Citadel, preparing to flee.

Sidonis’ betrayal had cost Garrus ten good men on Omega, and it was finally time to dispense justice. Taking down C-Sec washout Harkin was a bonus. The bastard had always been a dirty cop, and now he was harboring the murderer.

They had Harkin cornered, but Shepard didn’t want Garrus taking out Harkin’s kneecaps. Fine.

Garrus slammed his own head into Harkin’s. The human slumped to the ground in silent agony, holding his bleeding nose as Garrus, Shepard, and Miranda left.

“I didn’t shoot him,” Garrus said, following Shepard back to the skycar. She didn’t answer. His irritation grew.

Shepard’s silence didn’t last. At least Miranda remained silent in the back seat. Shepard let Garrus drive, but she had a counter argument for every point he made on the drive to the rendezvous.

Her last word: “This isn’t you, either.”

What could he tell her? _I don’t know who I am anymore?_ He just got out of the car, sniper rifle in hand.

His perch was perfect. The shot was not. She stepped right in front of it.

_Kim!_

The back of her head filled his scope. He jolted backward, breathing heavily. He could have— He nearly—

No! He had to see this duty through. His dead squad required justice. Their betrayer was win his sights.

He told her to move, and she did—directly in his line of sight every time Sidonis moved.

Every movement, each adjustment, slowly brought other things to his attention: a couple strolling on the boardwalk, Embassy office workers headed for tea, a human father pushing his babbling toddler son in a stroller.

Garrus sat back again, suddenly deaf to whatever Sidonis was blubbering about. If he took him out now, all those civilians would be covered in Sidonis’ blood. Literally. Did he want that kid to go home with shards of turian skull in his lap?

A clean shot still wasn’t . . . clean.

“Just tell him to go,” Garrus growled into the mic. He packed up his rifle and headed back to the skycar without bothering to watch Sidonis’ reaction.

“I don’t want to talk about it,” he said before Kim could speak.

“Okay,” was her answer, and she drove them back to the Normandy in silence.

He wanted it to be a cold silence, or a hot silence, or a loud silence. Angry, even! But it was just silence. She didn’t seem disturbed at all that she’d riled him up and ruined his plans to assassinate a murder, or that he had fumed at her.

As soon as they were back on the ship, Garrus stormed into his quarters alone and stowed his gear. He wondered if she’d be just as dispassionate if he _had_ managed to cap Sidonis in the brightly-lit lounge. But then Kim would have been the one covered in Sidonis’ blood, because Garrus had pulled the trigger.

The realization had him leaning back on the wall and sinking to the floor on his ass, like an oh-two tank with a fast leak. “What have I done?”

He banged his head back against the wall when EDI answered, “Search parameters are too broad. Could you refine your inquiry?”

“It was a rhetorical question, EDI.” He got to his feet. “I’ve got to talk to Kim.”

“Commander Shepard is in the Captain’s cabin.”

“Thanks.”

“Have you properly prepared?”

“Have I—EDI!” He wished he had hair, so he could tear it out. “Some privacy, please!”

“Very well. Good luck.”


	5. Shakarian

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> NSFW

Garrus stowed his armor and put on a blue shirt and slacks before heading up to the Captain’s cabin.

“I was wrong. I do want to talk about it.” Garrus slung his carry-all down on Kim’s cabin floor.

She stood from her desk, set aside her datapad. “I’m here, Garrus.”

“I—” He suddenly lost the momentum of whatever had driven him to her door. “Am I interrupting something?”

“Field reports can wait, Garrus. I’d much rather talk with you.”

“Oh. Even after . . . ?”

She grinned and crossed her arms, “You bit my head off?”

“I what?!”

“It’s an idiom. An expression, Garrus. You were grumpy.”

He snorted. “I was worse than that.”

She sighed and held out her hands in invitation. “Scared? Angry? Lost?”

He placed his hands in hers, relief rushing through him. “All of the above.”

“And had you killed him?”

He cringed. “I don’t know. I’d probably still be all those things—if I had to leave your side.”

“Never. I will never not want you, Garrus. And it’s not just because you’ve got perfect aim.

“What’s in the bag?”

“Oh.” He’d forgotten he’d brought it. “Before we ran off to the Citadel, back when we were flirting—and before I was a total jerk—I’d put together some supplies.”

It sounded stupid and calculating now that he said it out loud. “Uh, I’ve done some research on human customs, but I . . . Kim, I don’t want to screw this up.”

“You can’t, Garrus. You’d still be my best friend, even if you didn’t want me.”

“Of course I want to be with you! I . . .” Why had he waited so long? It was like harboring a thorny secret when you waited this long. It should be easy to speak the truth.

“I love you, Kim.”

She tilted her head, brow furrowed, like he’d told her something obvious, like Earth was in the Sol System.

“I love you, too, Garrus. Since the first Normandy, when you listened to me like no one else ever had. Like I mattered. For me, not because I had my mind fried by a Prothean beacon. I was too chicken to say it out loud.”

Every time he thought he had a hold on her language, something new came up. “Chicken? Isn’t that an Earth bird?”

“It means being scared when it’s foolish to be scared. But I’m not chicken anymore. So, I say again, what’s in the bag?”

“I got some music from Earth.” He picked up his bag and set it on her desk, pulled out an OSD, popped it into her console. “[Breathe](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0PxiJps-Z0s)” by Miracle of Sound pulsed down from the ceiling speakers.

_Half light in the slip we let the night pass_

_That fine red lipstick on your wine glass . . ._

Kim giggled and put a hand over her mouth and nose.

“What? Is it wrong?”

“It’s more sexy than romantic,” she said, “but I love you for it just the same.”

_Don't worry honey I've nothin' to do_

_Tonight's for making sweet music with you_

_So lay your body down babe_

_Forget about your troubles, hit the lights_

_Lay your body down babe_

_I'm gonna give the world to you tonight_

She sidled up next to him. Looked up into his eyes. “And it reminds me that I have this new [Jet Black Dress](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DD1SwA5FKQI). I could wear it and take you to the Citadel, just you and me.”

“Yeah,” he breathed out. “Maybe tomorrow night.”

She whispered against his jaw, sending delightful tingles down his throat. “What else is in the bag?”

This time he was ready for her surprised laugh when he pulled out a box of condoms. “Always prepared, Garrus?”

Talking about it wasn’t as difficult as he’d thought it would be. “I asked Mordin about which materials were best. I know we can’t have biological children together, but Mordin said you could have discomfort or an allergic reaction to my seed.”

Her smile softened and she stepped forward to embrace him, wrapping her arms around his waist and burying her face in his shirt with a contented sigh. He wrapped his arms around her, enjoying how her soft body heat seeped into him.

A moment later she snorted, “Seed?”

“Is that not the term? I read some Regency Romances—”

She dissolved in giggles, but her hands slid down to grasp his butt, which felt really good, especially with her breasts pressed flush against his chest.

She lifted her face to press a kiss under his chin, her full, damp lips electrifying him like overload. “Garrus, let’s side aside fiction.”

“Absolutely.”

They slowly undressed each other. Her strong fingers didn’t hesitate when his dry chestplate was revealed. The fleshy pads of her fingertips left an arousing electric trail everywhere she explored: along his neck, across his chest, down his quivering belly to loosen his belt.

Her hair was softer than the finely-woven clothes she wore. He ran his talons through it and she purred, twisting her neck back with pleasure, knocking his heartrate to run faster. She made the sound again as he slid her sleeves down her sleekly muscled arms.

They helped each other with their boots. He admired the way her spine curved when she bent to tuck the boots under her coffee table.

“How flexible are you?” he asked, tossing his pants toward the pile of their other clothes on the floor and sitting on the edge of the bed.

“Hmm,” she smiled, slinking out of her own slacks and underwear. “How about you tell me?” She sauntered over, little foil packet in hand, and straddled one of his thighs, her soft human flesh damp with desire.

“Kim,” he breathed out.

She nestled her face into the crook of his neck, inhaled deeply. “You smell so good, like a mountain hike.”

He promised himself he’d take her on the best mountain hike Earth had to offer as soon as their mission was over. The thought flew from his mind when she gripped his hard cock and squeezed.

“Are you ready?” she asked.

“Definitely.”

She deftly slid the condom over his erection and rolled back onto the bedspread, pulling him down with her and crooking one of her powerful legs over his bony hip. When he entered her, the rest of the galaxy ceased to exist. They were cocooned in each other’s heat. Her flushed face was turned to him like he was a sun, her hands gripped his arms. His mind swam in the depths of her limitless gaze.

He began a slow rolling of his hips. She met his every thrust. Each of her gasps pushing him forward, faster. She groaned with pleasure, squeezed her eyes shut.

There was something he wanted to try. According to the extranet, most humans seemed to like it, especially the females. Increasing his pace, he braced above her with one hand and reached for one of her breasts with the other. He rolled her nipple between two of his fingers.

She threw her head back with a shriek and his pace faltered.

“Did I hurt you?”

She gripped his ass, thrust her hips up to get him moving again. “No, do it again!”

With a relieved chuckle, he complied. She slammed up into him again, mouth open in a silent scream of ecstasy, and came, clenching around him with a pulsing that threw him over the edge after her.

-

Post-coitus, Garrus held Kim in his arms. He felt pleasantly sleepy, while she seemed invigorated, so she got up to get a washcloth to clean them both up.

“Come on, Vakarian,” she said cheerfully, yanking at the edge of the blanket, “Under the covers.”

He groaned and rolled over, letting her pull the bedding back and tuck herself in snuggled against him. He pulled her closer with a contented sigh.

“I miss Wrex,” he said.

She laughed. “You want to share our bed with an eight-hundred-pound krogan? Mr. Vakarian, I hadn’t pegged you for that type of turian.”

“You know what I mean,” he mumbled into her hair.

“Yeah, I do.” She kissed his dry cheek. “I do. I don’t know that we can afford a field trip to Tuchanka just now, but we definitely should schedule a visit after we take the Collectors down.”


	6. Collectors and cupcakes

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Content includes brief descriptions of the Collector abduction and base. Shepard immediately takes her fully loyal squad to rescue the crew.

Kelly stabbed her finger forcefully down on the send button of her latest report. It was much briefer than she wanted it to be, but Shepard hadn’t talked to her at all today, so there wasn’t much to report. Kelly had been in the wash room when the away team returned from the Citadel, and Shepard hadn’t been seen in the CIC at all after that.

Commander Shepard boasted about her open door policy all the time. Perhaps it was time Kelly took advantage of that so neither one of them had to lose face in front of the crew. If Kelly’s commanding officer ignored her, she couldn’t do her job.

Kelly strode into the elevator and jabbed the button for the top floor. Good, the inner door was open, and the lights on. She took a step off the elevator.

“I love you, Garrus, but I have to turn myself in.” The tremulous words hit Kelly in the face like a slap. She froze. Garrus and Shepard?!

His low voice echoed back, but Kelly couldn’t catch the words.

Shepard went on, “If we survive the Omega Four Relay— _when_ we survive the Omega Four Relay—I’ve got to turn the Normandy over to Alliance Command. I don’t think they’ll execute a Spectre. Anderson will fight for me. Best case scenario, even if I renounce Cerberus: A year for a Court Martial, trial, and getting booted out.

“Then I’ll come find you, wherever you are. I promise.”

Kelly leaned forward, trying to catch the response.

The inner doors silently swooped closed, shutting her out; the green door light popped red.

Heart pounding in her ears, Kelly high-tailed it back down the elevator and into the dim and deserted CIC.

As her fear of being caught receded, her anger grew. How dare Shepard risk humanity! Cerberus and the Normandy were the only things standing between Earth and the Collectors!

She signed into her terminal and slammed away on the virtual keys. Two minutes later she had a full report ready for The Illusive Man.

She nearly jumped out of her skin when EDI spoke just above her.

“Miss Chambers, you don’t want to send that.”

“Mind your own business, EDI,” Kelly snapped.

“Shepard will do what is right,” the A.I. answered. “We would do well to follow her example. To do otherwise—to betray her—would be folly.”

Chills cascaded up Kelly’s back and neck.

Had the A.I. just threatened her? She was shackled, wasn’t she?

It was late. She was upset. Maybe now wasn’t the best time to bother the Illusive Man. This news could wait for their next teleconference. Whatever her flaws, Shepard wouldn’t abandon the mission before it was done. She must have meant she’d be going back to the Alliance _after_ their mission. There was plenty of time.

Kelly deleted the draft without saving.

“Temporary files wiped and overwritten. Good night, Miss Chambers.”

Kelly didn’t even bother to stop to brush her teeth. She scurried to her bunk and hid under the covers.

She breathed a sigh of relief the next day when Shepard casually said good morning and went about her galaxy map duties like it was business as usual.

Only it wasn’t. When the away team returned, they brought with them a Reaper Identify-Friend-Foe transmitter, _and_ a deactivated but fully intact _geth_.

Kelly’s fingers shook as she typed and sent her reports.

A few hours later, Shepard was off on the shuttle with the now- _active_ geth and the away team.

And the IFF transmitter led the Collectors straight to the Normandy.

Eight-foot-tall aliens built like domed-headed insects swarmed through the Normandy’s airlock. Then there was screaming. Kelly turned to run, but a sharp jab in the side of her neck froze her mid-stride. The Collectors stuck her in one of those brown pods, like a coffin with life support. She couldn’t blink, much less squeeze her eyes shut or pass out. Unconsciousness would be welcome, instead of the blurry images through the foggy yellow glass in the front of her pod.

It was a short trip into the enemy ship, where they were stowed like luggage. She may not have been able to move her body, but her eardrums hummed with all the electronic noises of the enemy ship.

Amidst the hums, a little electronic voice buzzed in her pod.

“We will be back for you. I promise.”

 _EDI?_ Kelly couldn’t move her lips.

The Collector ship jolted as the Normandy broke away into FTL, leaving them behind.

_At least someone survived. How long do I have?_

Kelly didn’t know how long the flight was. She lost track of time, but at least she could close her eyes now. Darkness was preferable to whatever it was out there. Her heartrate had slowed, but her racing thoughts would not let her sleep. By the time they moved her pod, she could raise her hands to brace against the glass, but she refused to open her eyes.

It was best not to know.

“My God,” Chakwas’ voice echoed somewhere nearby and Kelly squeezed her eyes shut even tighter. “They’re _melting_ them!”

Kelly clamped her hands over her ears as a woman’s wordless screams filled the room.

Over the din, rose Shepard’s command, “Get them out of there!”

Then Kelly was falling face first out of her pod. She flung her arms out to catch herself, but landed in the Commander’s arms.

“Chambers, open your eyes! It’s me.”

It was. Relief flooded Kelly’s stomach so quickly, she turned her head and vomited on the floor.

“Better out than in,” Shepard smiled and helped her up.

“You came back for us.”

“You’re my crew.” Shepard patted her on the shoulder and turned to give orders, “Thane, Kasumi, get the survivors back to the Normandy. We’ll rendezvous there.”

And then Shepard was gone again. Kelly stumbled after Dr. Chakwas and the others, back onto the Normandy, where every shadow looked like a Collector. She hunkered down on the floor in the corner of the medbay, the cold steel hurting her butt, but she didn’t care. She could feel it, instead of numb terror.

“Here, Kelly, drink this,” Chakwas handed her a little purple cup.

Kelly dutifully drank it down. It was thick and sweet, like cough syrup.

Kelly didn’t remember falling asleep, but she woke in the med bay under a cozy blanket, a smiling Dr. Chakwas at her side.

“The Collector base has been destroyed and we’re on our way back to the Citadel,” Chakwas said. “How do you feel?”

-

The day after Chakwas released her from the infirmary, Kelly felt adrift on a slow-moving river.

Laughter rang through the halls. Crew who hadn’t been close before the mission now held very personal, intimate conversations around the mess and CIC. Engineer Donnelly made a sexist comment and Engineer Daniels dumped her pudding over his head. On the bridge, Grunt and Garrus bantered with Joker and EDI.

Kelly aimlessly wandered the halls. Her job had been to report to the Illusive Man, but this was no longer a Cerberus vessel. And their mission was done. What was she to do now?

As Kelly drifted toward the observation deck, Shepard jogged to catch up with her. “Hey, Kelly, got a minute?”

“I always have time for you, Commander,” Kelly said on autopilot, hoping she didn’t sound as hollow to Shepard as she did to herself.

“I’ve been meaning to tell you. I’d be happy to send a reference to Refugee Services on your behalf, if you’d like.

“You’ve a good ear, Kelly. The Citadel’s always got refugees who need a friend. You might consider building a new life there. Just change your name and disguise yourself. Maybe go blonde,” Shepard winked. “I doubt Cerberus will leave you alone after the spectacular way I told the Illusive Man to fuck off.”

So she did care. A spark lit in Kelly’s chest. She stood up taller. “Thank you, Commander. It sounds like the perfect fit for me.”

“Any time, Kelly!”

Kimberly Shepard flashed another bright smile and jogged back down the hall, where Garrus held the elevator for her. He pulled her in and swept her into a kiss as the doors closed.

Kelly sighed dreamily. It looked almost natural how Kim had figured out Garrus’ jaw. Maybe she’d meet a nice turian on the Citadel, too. One who didn’t mind bottle blondes and liked mysterious human women who were good listeners and had no past.

“Hey, Kelly, we’ve been looking for you,” Kasumi waved to her from the mess hall table. Engineer Daniels and Dr. Chakwas sat with her. “Rupert made cupcakes. Join us!”

Kelly smiled and waved back. “This is going to be fun.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> THE END

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading my first piece of Mass Effect fan fiction! You can browse and chat with me on [Pinterest](https://www.pinterest.com/dafan7711/boards/) and [Tumblr](https://dafan7711.tumblr.com/), where I blog about gaming, writing, and life. Special events include Music Monday, Write it Wednesday, and N7 Day.
> 
> Dragon Age fans, I still plan to post stories about King Alistair's adult grandchildren. I have the main events of Warrior Dove and Curran's Heart mapped out and key moments written. Stay tuned here and on [my blog](https://dafan7711.tumblr.com/) for release date information and further announcements.
> 
> Check out [ my AO3 stories ](http://archiveofourown.org/users/DAfan7711/works).


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